Carlos Gomez Blog: 2018

Friday, 21 December 2018

The Paleo Diet vs. Keto Diet: 3 Lessons Learned

What’s that? You wanna know how the popular Keto Diet compares to the Paleo Diet?

Oh Paleo, you were so 2014. Right there with “Let it Go” and the Ice Bucket Challenge.

I kid, I kid. I do want to build a snowman.

The question “how does Keto compare to Paleo” will dive into some interesting concepts, worth discussing. There’s the normal answer, you’ll read on every other site out there. We’ll talk about that too, to cover our bases, just in case you’re unfamiliar with either diet. Knowledge is power and an overview of Keto and Paleo will be helpful for the remainder of the article.

However, here at Nerd Fitness, we keeps it real.

So I’ll give you the honest, “real” answer on how Keto and Paleo compare. And no, it’s not just eating Brussel sprouts (although it’s not-not eating Brussel sprouts). You’re smart, and I think you can handle some real talk on the benefits of Keto and Paleo.

So strap in and get ready for the following:

The textbook, basic answer on how Paleo and Keto compare
The Nerd Fitness straight talk on Keto vs. Paleo
What you can learn from both diets to Level Up your eating strategy

WHAT’S THE PALEO DIET?

The “Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet” is to Nerd Fitness what The Lord of the Rings is to Elijah Wood. While far from the first article I ever wrote, our post on Paleo became SUPER popular and is perhaps what Nerd Fitness is best known for.

If you’ve never heard the term “Paleo” until today, go check out that article and get caught up. It is long tho, sort of like the Extended Editions. So I’ll give you a quick recap in case you don’t have much time, or need a general refresher.

The Paleo Diet, in theory, is a way of eating that attempts to mimic how our ancestors would have eaten hundreds of thousands of years ago. The gist is that agriculture is a recent phenomenon in the story of humans. Eating as our ancestors did before this current chapter is more in line with how we evolved, which has health benefits. By ignoring the agricultural revolution, Paleo attempts to align ourselves with a more primal and primitive eating pattern. It’s why people joke about cavemen and all that when discussing Paleo.

Which I am not above.

What did our genetic ancestors eat, prior to agriculture?

In the Paleo Diet, you eat the following:

Meat. Paleo recommends grass-fed meat whenever possible, which is more in line with how animals exist in nature.
Fowl. Chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that (try to) fly.
Fish. Things you catch with a hook or spear.
Eggs. Things that come from birds.
Vegetables. YES.
Oils. Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil – the less refined the better.
Fruits. Apples, oranges, berries, etc. Although because of their high sugar content (fructose), the Paleo community will recommend limiting these to a few servings a day. I have a somewhat more lenient stance.
Nuts. Almonds, macadamias, and cashews are quite common on a Paleo Diet.
Tubers. Foods like sweet potatoes and yams.

That’s a list comprised of REAL food, which I discuss heavily in our Guide to Healthy Eating. In my opinion, REAL food is the key to a successful eating strategy. That’s why I’m a fan of Paleo and/or Paleo-ish.

What’s missing from that list of approved food above?

Grains
Dairy
Legumes
Processed things (junk food)

Again, the thought is we didn’t evolve eating massive amounts of these foods, so they should be avoided or limited. Granted, with the exception of the last bullet (junk food), this might be overkill. Personally, I eat a little bit of rice regularly, but we’ll talk more about that later.

Okay, that’s the super quick, textbook answer to “What is the Paleo Diet.” If you want more info, make sure to download the PDF of our Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet. If you enter your email below, we’ll route it to you.

Next up!

WHAT’S THE KETO DIET?

In fitness trends, if the Paleo Diet is old and busted, the Keto Diet is the new hotness.

This isn’t the first time we’ve brought up the Keto Diet on this site. If you’re interested in eating low-carb, you should check out our HUMONGOUS article on the subject.

Plus, there are GIFs of a Ninja Turtle and an ACTUAL turtle in there!

What’s that? You don’t like turtles? What about otters?

There are otters in there too! Alright, enough “cute animal” bribes.

For the sake of keeping this article as one resource, let’s chat about Keto.

To understand the Keto Diet, you need to understand that your body can burn both ketones and glucose for energy. Your body obtains and makes glucose, a simple sugar, from most of the food you eat.

That’s one way to fuel yourself.

The other is ketones. Your body can produce ketones from dietary fat, as well as your own fat reserves. The strategy behind the Keto Diet is to limit carbohydrates (which turns to glucose) to such a point that your body is forced to rely on ketones for sustenance. This could include your own fat stores.

That’s why the Keto Diet is all the rage these days because tons of folks want to burn through their stored fat.

To get into this state of ketosis, where your body is relying on fat for fuel, you need to calculate your macronutrient ratio intake. You’ll drastically reduce carbs (5-10% of total diet), eat a moderate amount of protein (15-30%), and round out the rest with tons of healthy fat (60-75%).

You may be asking yourself, “That’s all well and good Steve, but what do I actually eat on a Keto Diet? No one looks at food and says ‘that’s 60% fat.’”

Great point. Here are your low-carb food groups:

Meat. Red meat (like steak), pork products (sausage and bacon and ham), and white meat (like chicken and turkey).
Fish. High-fat fish like tuna and salmon are the go-to for Keto.
Eggs and dairy. White, yellowish, fats and protein for the win.
Healthy fats. Nuts, seeds, and avocados should be your staples. Although the later, avocados, contains decent carbs. Be careful.
Dressings and oils. Greek dressing, Caesar dressing (check the ingredients first!), ranch, aioli. When you need an oil, stick to extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil.
Veggies. Prioritize the less starchy, green ones like spinach, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower (ok, it’s white).
Meatless proteins. Tempeh, tofu, and seitan can take the place of meats in a vegetarian or vegan Keto Diet. Gotta get that protein from somewhere, right?

The above list consists of foods low in carbohydrates, key if you want to drive your body into ketosis.

Alright, that’s the short and gist of the Keto Diet.

Now, it should be noted that not everyone does well on a low-carb high-fat diet. For example, me! I’ve found that I perform and feel better when eating whole, unprocessed carbohydrates. It’s why I eat a little bit of rice… which isn’t Paleo or Keto! The horror.

Speaking of Paleo vs Keto…

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ON “PALEO VS KETO?”

The textbook answer on “Paleo vs Keto” will take a Venn diagram like look at both diets. Showing which foods are both low in carbs, and something our great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother would have eaten.

Is that enough “greats” to get us to the Paleolithic era? Probably.

Such a Venn diagram would look like this, as demonstrated by Paleohacks.

That’s a textbook graph if I’ve ever seen one. But Venn diagrams are nifty, and an easy way for us to visualize concepts.

For example, we can quickly see that Paleo and Keto overlap on:

High-quality meats. Both diets encourage protein coming from high-quality meat sources.
Lots of non-starchy vegetables. Whether Keto or Paleo, both include nutrient-dense vegetables like spinach, asparagus, and Brussel sprouts.
Plenty of healthy fats. What do coconut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil all have in common? They’re all part of both an ancestral and low-carb way of eating.

Of course, not all parts of the circles overlap. Such is the nature of a Venn diagram.

For Paleo, you cut out most dairy, because it’s a more modern dietary food group that causes some people problems. This differs from Keto, where you rely on yogurt and cheeses for fat intake.

For Keto, you cut out fruit and starchy vegetables (potatoes) because the high carb content is an easy way to knock you out of ketosis. This differs from Paleo because fruits and potatoes are whole foods that have been eaten for thousands of generations.

Is there anything stopping you from trying both diets? Nope!

When you combine both strategies, for a Keto-Paleo Diet, you’re left eating low-carb foods that our ancestors had access to.

It should be noted, there are some studies proclaiming the benefits of a paleolithic ketogenic diet.^[1] Which is logical, because there are studies galore on the benefits of Paleo and Keto, independent of each other.

However, both diets are SUPER restrictive, which is why a lot of folks have trouble maintaining the lifestyle of Paleo or Keto. The adherence rate for either diet is terrible. Both our posts on Paleo and Keto stress this point as an overall con of either diet. When you COMBINE these two very restrictive ways of eating, you could end up creating a nightmare scenario of food limitations.

Alright, you can pack up your bags. Our official answer comparing the Paleo and Keto Diet is over. The lesson is technically finished. Don’t forget to turn in next week’s assignment at the start of class.

Shhh…

Okay, they’ve taken off. Now lean in close. We’re turning off the PowerPoint presentation. It’s time for Professor Steve to give you the after-hours honest truth on Paleo vs. Keto.

THE REAL TALK ON “KETO VS PALEO?”

The reason Keto and Paleo can often work for people centers on the idea of “Mental Models.”

It’s a concept I’ve graciously borrowed from my friend Shane over at Farnam Street Blog. A Mental Model provides a framework for how we understand the world. A way for us to interpret facts and make sense of what we are experiencing.

Shane describes three different Mental Models for looking at the same data:

“When a botanist looks at a forest they may focus on the ecosystem, an environmentalist sees the impact of climate change, a forestry engineer the state of the tree growth, a business person the value of the land. None are wrong, but neither are any of them able to describe the full scope of the forest.”

Bringing it back to nutrition, Paleo and Keto both provide us with a model for understanding food.

“That Twinkie is something that came from a factory, that my ancestors would never have touched. It’s unhealthy for me,” says the Paleo follower.
“That Twinkie is pumped full of sugar and processed carbs, that’ll kick me right out of ketosis. It’s unhealthy for me,” says the Keto follower.

Two different ways to come to the same conclusion: a Twinkie probably isn’t the healthiest thing you can eat.

We are in a food landscape that almost seems designed to make us sick and fat. Full of candy, soda, and junk food. Food that is easy to overeat, and when you eat too much consistently for weeks/months/years, you end up overweight and staying overweight.

So think of Paleo and Keto as blueprints designed to help you avoid these calorie dense and addictive foods. That’s why they can work for people.

By eliminating large swaths of food groups, especially those that have tons of calories, insulin-spiking sugar, and no nutritional satiating value, you’re more likely than not to eat a caloric deficit consistently. Which can indeed lead to weight loss.

For some evidence of REAL food containing way fewer calories than processed junk, check out this post from wiseGEEK. They do a great job of demonstrating the caloric density of different foods.

That’s why a Mental Model centered on REAL food is the true benefit and overlap of Keto and Paleo, because focusing on REAL food is the easiest way to obtain and maintain a caloric deficit.

A plan, or Mental Model, to navigate these food choices will be critical for healthy eating. A clear “yes” or “no” for every meal choice you’ll encounter.

It doesn’t matter if cavemen ate grains, or if the metabolic state of ketosis is desirable. That’s not the true advantage of either diet.

Said again: the reason Keto and Paleo can be great for people is that it provides them with rules on exactly what to eat.

Is this plate of chicken and broccoli something a caveman could eat? Yep!
Is this plate of fish and asparagus low in carbohydrates? You betcha!

Eating plenty of vegetables and high-quality meat is great. Most health professionals would agree. However, a Mental Model on how to go about this can help make food choices automatic, like a robot.

And robots rule.

I want to create such an autopilot for you. A system you can depend on to navigate all the meal decisions you will face.

Let’s find you a Mental Model. Something both reliable and sustainable.

Paleo and Keto are two ways to go about this. But if you’ve tried one, the other, or both and found them too restrictive, don’t give up! There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

I don’t give a sh*t if your Mental Model is low-carb, or if Neanderthals ate that way. There are many different strategies for how to eat. Pick one that works for you and try it out! Adjust and learn as you go. A lot of them will work if you’re consistent, as long as it’s not some “crash diet” designed as a quick fix.

Small, sustainable changes for the win.

If you want help developing a Mental Model, we offer two ways to get you there. If you can hold yourself accountable, the Nerd Fitness Academy will teach you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about a proper relationship with food. You can follow many like-minded nerds and set yourself on a path through our self-guided course.

If you want an accountability buddy, we got you there too! We offer a 1-on-1 private coaching program that can do just that. We’ll work with you to find a Mental Model that works perfect for your situation, and provide direction and accountability until these changes become normal and routine. If you want guidance from a trained professional, schedule a call by clicking on the image below and see if we’re a good fit for each other!

DEVELOP A “MENTAL MODEL” TO LEVEL UP YOUR LIFE

We talk a lot about life as a real-life RFG here at Nerd Fitness. Completing quests and goals to gain experience points so you can take it to the next level in life.

That’s where the “Level Up Your Life” tagline comes from. Almost as if you yourself were a character to be upgraded.

And YES, that DOES also happen to also be the name of my best selling book, available online and in bookstores nationwide, thank you for noticing!

There are all sorts of ways to go about leveling up. Things like lifting weights, sleeping better and, playing with friends will advance you in the game of life, leading to castles raided, dragons slain, and fireworks enjoyed.

If you want to advance onto the next level, one sure fire way to do it would be a Mental Model on how to eat. Paleo and Keto are both great options that have helped a lot of people learn better dietary habits for life improvement.

As I said above though, they are far from the only options. You can go vegan, try the Slow Carb Diet, experiment with intermittent fasting, or act like a Mediterranean.

Or do what I do and invent your own.

With a Mental Model on nutrition under your belt, you can consider your life leveled up.

Then we can worry about equipping you with a flaming sword.

-Steve

PS: For those who were expecting some kind of epic showdown between Paleo and Keto, a battle between two popular diets, here’s a gif for you:

PSS: I’ll end this article by again reminding you of the Nerd Fitness Coaching Program. We work with busy people like you to structure a complete life overhaul: handcrafted workout routines, accountability, mindset changes, and nutritional strategies.

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All photo citations can be found in this footnote right here.^[2]

source https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-paleo-diet-vs-keto-diet-3-lessons-learned/

Friday, 14 December 2018

What are Electrolytes? Is Gatorade good for you?

What exactly are electrolytes? You hear them mentioned all the time to sell sports drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, and Brawndo. Do you need them? Are you getting enough? What do electrolytes do for you anyway?

All you hear about is “rehydrate” this, and “electrolyte” that…is all this for real? Were humans born to consume sports drinks?

We’ll be diving into these waters headfirst, to give you everything you need to know about electrolytes:

What are these electrolytes?
Are you getting enough?
Should you be supplementing electrolytes?
Are Gatorade and other sports drinks a good idea?

First up, let’s chat chemistry.

WHAT ARE ELECTROLYTES?

Your body is constantly working around the clock to keep itself in balance. One way it does this is with “ionic solutions,” called electrolytes. They work to keep your body, muscles, and nerves functioning properly.

Electrolytes are electrically charged minerals and compounds, which is where the “ion” part comes in. They basically conduct electricity when mixed with water. No electrolytes, means no electricity, means body-no-worky.

There are all kinds of electrolytes, but the most important are:

Sodium
Chloride
Potassium
Magnesium
Calcium
Phosphate
Bicarbonate

Again, these are critical for health, which is why your body strives to keep them in order.

Which brings us to your kidneys. Your kidneys exist to help keep your body in balance by regulating the fluids and electrolytes in your body. One way they do this is by making pee – kidneys essentially filter blood so they can get rid of waste products like urea and ammonia.

When you are dehydrated, your kidneys make your pee as concentrated as possible to keep water in the body. When you are well hydrated, your kidneys let more water leave with the waste. Which is why your pee looks different depending on how hydrated you are (we’ll touch on this again later).

Bringing it back to our topic at hand, your kidneys also regulate the concentration of electrolytes in your blood.

When you work out, you sweat (trust me on this one, I’m a fitness expert). When you sweat, you lose fluids and electrolytes – especially sodium and chloride (which is why your sweat tastes salty…stop tasting your sweat you creep). Now, when you’re lacking fluids and electrolytes, your muscles suffer and your performance suffers.

Which is why having your electrolytes in balance is so crucial.

I can see the concern on your face already.

If I’ve lost you, and the idea of performance issues stresses you out, we got you. We created a 1-on-1 private online coaching program to answer questions just like “Do I need to supplement my workout with electrolytes?”

We work with busy people just like you to help establish goals and plans to achieve them. If you have tons of questions or want an accountability partner, we are here for you.

Click below to find out if we are a good fit for each other. We’ll schedule you a free call with a member of Team Nerd Fitness, who would love to talk to you no matter what!

AM I GETTING ENOUGH ELECTROLYTES?

Not only can you lack electrolytes, but you can also have TOO MANY. Electrolytes take on a positive or negative charge when they dissolve in your body fluid. So having too many of some and not enough of another can create problems.

Ugh. Fitness can be complicated.

Here are some signs that things are out of whack:

Dehydration. If you don’t have enough water in your system, your electrolytes will be out of balance. As we mentioned, electrolytes dissolve in water, so if you are dehydrated almost by definition you are lacking electrolytes. Drink up. Again, we’ll talk about pee color as a sign of hydration later.
Diarrhea and constipation. Gross. However, we need to chat about this. Poop is mostly made out of water, so diarrhea and constipation could be a sign of an electrolyte imbalance. Plus, if you get a viral infection and get diarrhea, you can become dehydrated and then… more electrolyte imbalances. If you have problems going #2, see your doctor if this lasts for more than a few days.
Fatigue. A common symptom of an electrolyte disorder is fatigue. If you’re feeling groggy, something might be off with your electrolytes, specifically a lack of magnesium. Many different body processes depend on magnesium, so being deficient can make you feel chronically tired.
Muscle cramp. Has your muscle ever freaked out and felt like it was trying to detach itself from the bone? Almost as if your leg was going to snap in half? That’s a muscle cramp, and likely caused by an electrolyte imbalance or dehydration.

Generally, if your electrolytes are out of balance, it’s because you are deficient. It’s way more common to have too few than too many electrolytes. Which is why proper hydration is so critical.

Now that I’ve convinced you that you are going to die a miserable and terrible death from the lack of electrolytes, let’s chat about Gatorade.

SPORTS DRINKS TO THE RESCUE?

How does Gatorade (or any sports drink–they’re all about the same) work?

Sticking to the theme of this article, it comes down to electrolytes. Water will get into your bloodstream faster (and to the right places) when it’s mixed with electrolytes, because water follows electrolytes. Said another way, the absorption of water depends on sodium, an electrolyte.

And Gatorade, like Brawndo, has electrolytes.

Gatorade has a good amount of sodium, as well as glucose (sugar). And your small intestines LOVE glucose. The little transporters in your small intestines will pick up that glucose, and in turn pick up the sodium. If they‘re picking up glucose and sodium, they’re also grabbing the H20, and BOOM! You’re getting rehydrated faster. That’s the theory, and there is some evidence in support.^[1]

Another benefit of Gatorade is that sodium minimizes urination (Remember osmosis from high school chemistry? Water goes where the salt is). When you’re drinking Gatorade, the liquid will stay in your body longer, giving it more time to get absorbed, which will get you back into balance quicker!

So I realize this section reads like an ad for Gatorade. Pay no attention to the bag of money left for me in the corner. All this talk about how great Gatorade is at getting you rehydrated quicker will REALLY only affect you if you’re doing hours and hours of strenuous activity. That report mentioned above was critical on this point. If you’re just working out for 45 minutes, drinking water throughout the workout and afterward will keep you plenty hydrated. You can forgo a sports drink.

However, if you’re running a marathon, Gatorade might be a good idea.

You know what isn’t a good idea? Bourbon. Trust me on this one.

However, I run a fitness site here. So I can’t let this be the final word on Gatorade.

Is Gatorade healthy?

Reality check: Gatorade is essentially sugar water with some electrolytes added.

And sugar can make you fat.

If you’re looking to burn fat, drinking a 32 oz Gatorade will probably put back all the calories you just burned off during your workout (there are about 200-240 calories in there, most of which is sugar).

It comes down to total calories consumed vs. total calories burned every day. To lose body fat, you need to be in a caloric deficit, meaning you need to burn more than you consume. Drinking Gatorade can make this equation more difficult to tip in your favor.

So if you are doing moderate exercise, or even strenuous exercise for a shorter (an hour or so) amount of time, water should suffice.

If you are running marathons or doing hours of intense work, then replenishing your electrolytes is important. And one way to do that could be Gatorade.

Just don’t sit on your couch eating donuts and drinking Gatorade, despite the presence of electrolytes. The sugar will go straight to your gut!

Are you doomed? Do you have to drink sugar water to get enough electrolytes?

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPLEMENT ELECTROLYTES

All sorts of foods contain electrolytes. Our caveman ancestors didn’t have access to Fierce: Melon. They had to get their electrolytes from food.

This is still a good strategy.

Here are some ideas on how to eat your electrolytes:

Fish. Salmon, sardines, and mackerel all have high concentrations of calcium. A diet high in fish, like the Mediterranean, might be a good idea in this regard.
Fruit. Bananas, as well as oranges and melons, are a good source of potassium. So are avocados, which are also technically in the fruit family.
Nuts and seeds. If you’re looking for food with magnesium, look to nuts and seeds. Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pumpkin and watermelon seeds are all a great source of magnesium.
Spinach. This leafy green is packed full of electrolytes. One cup of spinach contains 839 mg of potassium, 245 mg of calcium, and 157 mg of magnesium. Popeye was on to something.

I’ll also note, that most REAL food (mushrooms, lentils, peas), will have micronutrients like electrolytes. Processed food like a Twinkie? Not so much.

If you eat a diet containing mostly REAL food, you should be fine on electrolytes. We evolved to get our nutrients from the foods we eat. If you want more guidance on what healthy eating means, make sure you check out our Guide on Healthy Eating. We explain what REAL food is, plus give you guidance on how to move your diet in that direction.

It should be noted that if you want to supplement with extra electrolytes, you don’t have to swig Gatorade. There are plenty of electrolytes on the market. Mix some with water after a workout and you’ll be good to go. This, plus lightly salting your food will do the trick.

I’ll end this section by saying that some low-carb diets like Keto can cause you to lose water and electrolytes along with it. We dive in the subject pretty heavily in our guide, but it’s good to keep in mind that if you are going low-carb, you’ll likely need more electrolytes than the average person.

Okay. That about does it. However, I promised we’d get to it.

LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR URINE

We started this article talking about pee. And like a Quentin Tarantino movie, that’s how we’ll end it. With pee. This joke worked in my head…

Do you have pale yellow pee? You’re right on track.
Bright or dark yellow pee? Make a few more trips to the water cooler.
Mountain Dew colored pee? Your body is severely dehydrated.
Any other color of the rainbow? RUN to the doctor.

-Steve

PS: If you want an accountability partner to answer all your fitness questions, I’ll again remind you of the Nerd Fitness Coaching Program. We can give you feedback on workouts, nutrition, and other lifestyle habits. We can even take a look at the color of your pee to see if you’re dehydrated.^[2]

**All photo credits can be found right here^[3]**

source https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/what-the-eff-is-an-electrolyte-is-gatorade-the-real-deal/

The Correct Number of Reps Per Set in the Gym

I have a lot of people ask me, “How many reps should I do per set?”

Unfortunately, there’s no easy, perfect answer to this question without a little more information, but I’m going to do my best to dig into the nitty gritty with today’s article and get you fixed up!

Regardless of what type of strength training you’re doing, having specific sets and reps to aim for will help you reach your goals. After all, as they say, what gets measured gets improved.

What you need to figure out is what you really want to accomplish.

Some people’s goals are to lose weight, which would require a certain rep range, and others’ goals are to build muscle mass, which requires a different range as well.

Think about the physique of a sprinter or bodybuilder versus a marathon runner. A sprinter is built for power and speed in short bursts, so their training sessions exist in small increments (10 second races).

A marathon runner is built for endurance, which means their training sessions are much longer (hours at a time).

Working out is no different.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume you’re reading this article because you have approximately one million questions about how you should be training in the gym. Should you do different muscle groups each day? Should you do 5 sets of 4 or 4 sets of 5? What about Starting Strength? Is it the most useful advice ever created? And how do you know you have good form on your squats and deadlifts?

These are all great questions, and they’re the same questions I asked when I got started. Unfortunately, I was an idiot and spent 6 years training the wrong way in the gym before I finally cracked the code and got stronger and healthier.

I’m guessing you don’t have 6 years to struggle as I did, or you’re just looking for expert guidance and accountability. Which is why we created our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! You’ll get paired with a coach that gets to know you and your life, creates a workout program for you, and helps keep you accountable and can answer all of the questions you might have about this stuff.

You can learn more about the program by clicking in the image below to schedule a call with us!

How many Reps should I do?

“Rep” stands for “repetition” and defines one complete motion of an exercise. When deciding on how many reps to do, first and foremost, decide below what you want to get out of a workout. Then read how to get there. We cover this stuff in significantly greater detail over in our Strength Training 101 intro, but the content below should get you started.

We’ll group different rep ranges into different goals, for muscular endurance, muscle size, and overall strength and power. It’ll get us thinking about endurance vs. hypertrophy.

Let’s chat about the following:

1) Muscular endurance – Endurance means we want your muscles to perform for an extended period time. Thus, your heaviest sets should be greater than 12 repetitions. Aim for a range from 12 to 20 reps. Obviously you won’t be able to lift heavy amounts of weight for 20 reps, so you’ll be lifting lighter loads. Also, because you’re going for endurance, you want to decrease the amount of rest between sets. 30 seconds to a minute, but certainly no more. You want your muscles trained to be ready to constantly be putting forth effort and prepared for the long haul. If you are a runner or cyclist, strength training with higher repetitions can help your muscles develop more endurance as well!

Reps for increased muscular endurance: 12 plus

2) Muscle Size ( Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy) – This is for guys or gals looking to build muscle size.

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy focuses on increasing the amount of sarcoplasm, the non-contractile fluid found in your muscle. Up to 30% of your muscle’s size is attributed to the sarcoplasm, so focusing on this type of hypertrophy helps build overall size.

If you’re looking to get bigger, you want to keep the number of reps per set in the 6 – 12 range per set. I find this is best accomplished by doing between 3-5 sets, each time increasing the weight and decreasing the reps. (12 reps at 200 lbs, 10 reps at 220 lbs, 8 reps at 240 lbs, etc.)

Rest time between sets should be short, not as short as for endurance, between 60 and 90 seconds.

Reps for increased muscle size: 6-12

3) Strength and Power (Myofibril hypertrophy) – If you’re happy with your size, or you’re training for specific sports and just want to get stronger with more power, this is for you. This type of training focuses on strengthening the myofibril, the contractile part of the muscle. However, not only are you shocking your muscles, you’re also putting a lot of pressure on your body’s central nervous system. This forces it too to adapt and become stronger, critical for strength and power.^[1]

It should be noted, that given proper nutrition, you’ll still develop some muscle and size with high weight and low reps. It just isn’t the primary goal.

For strength and power, your reps are going to be less than 6 with each set, and an increased amount of time waiting between sets (2-3 minutes). You’re going to be lifting crazy amounts of weight for sometimes just 1 repetition, so you need to have a spotter and absolutely perfect form or you could severely hurt yourself. This is how powerlifters train. Low reps, high weight, long time between sets. You need to increase your rest period because lifting this heavy fatigues the central nervous system and you’ll need longer to recover.

Reps for increased strength and power: Less than 6

How many Sets should I do?

A “set” describes a group of repetitions performed for an exercise without stopping.

For example, if you drop down and do 10 push-ups right now, you just did 1 SET of 10 reps of push-ups.

How many sets should you do? In the section above, I mentioned doing “3-5” sets of a given exercise. This is a good rule of thumb in general.

Why?

It’s a rule of thumb with an origin story.

3 sets became popular in 1948 when the physician Thomas L. DeLorme suggested 3 sets of 10 reps to be an effective form of weight training. Delorme came to his conclusion after prescribing strength training to his injured patients, as a way for them to rebuild muscle and rehabilitate. He recorded and analyzed their improvements. When Delorme published his findings, it was one of the first academic looks on how to strength train. As one of the pioneers, Delorme’s recommendations stuck and became “permanently etched into the collective subconscious of the fitness community.”^[2]

That’s the history of 3 sets at 10 repetitions…

Which is certainly more information than you needed. Sorry.

Anyway, don’t overthink how many sets to do. Don’t stress yourself out by worrying if you should do 4 sets or 3 sets. Pick one, record how you do with it, and get stronger the next time you do that movement.

It should be noted, there is evidence of more sets performed leading to more gains, in both endurance, size, and strength.^[3] Which makes sense, because you are forcing your muscles to do more work overall. After your third set, if you feel like you can do a fourth, it might be a good idea to try it. Or a fifth. Any more than that, and you should be thinking about increasing your weight instead.

Rule of thumb for the number of sets to do: 3-5 after a warm-up.

Exception: if you are doing endurance work, you may want to do only 2 sets with more reps. Less recovery time will test your muscle’s endurance.

Building a routine!

Now that you have “edumacated” yourself on how your specific goals influence the number of reps per set, and what sets actually are, you can build your workout program around this info.

Don’t want to build your own routine? Not sure what sets and reps to do? Want to remove all the confusion and be told what to do? I got ya! Download our free, comprehensive Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, as we dig into the answers of all those questions 🙂 I’ll send it to you right away after you sign up for the Rebellion in the box below:

There’s a lot of different truths and fallacies on plateaus and how your muscles can get “used” to working out and stop growing. If that’s something you’re battling, here’s a way to keep them guessing or send your workout program into a jolt:

Spend a week in a different rep range with different amounts of weight to throw them off. You can go with less weight and more reps. Or vice versa. Experiment with both. This will introduce a little chaos into the system, which could be a good thing, unless you’re Batman.

After a week of mixing it up, go back to your regularly scheduled routine and you’ll be right back on track.

Make sure you know what you want, and then design a plan to get there.

-Steve

PS: If you’re somebody that wants an expert to guide them through the training process, I hear you. I have a fitness coach myself who programs my workouts!

IF YOU WANT TO BE TOLD EXACTLY WHAT TO DO:

Consider our 1-on-1 coaching program where we’ll build a powerlifting and nutrition program for you based on your situation and current level of experience, with video form checks and expert guidance.

On a bit tighter of a budget? No problem! Check out our self-paced online course, the Nerd Fitness Academy, which eases you into strength training with both bodyweight and gym routines.

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All photo citations can be found right here^[3]

source https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-correct-number-of-reps-per-set-in-the-gym/

Friday, 7 December 2018

Strength Training 101: Inverted Rows

When I go to the gym, I try to keep things as simple and efficient as possible.

I’m a huge supporter of pull ups and chin ups, as those are the exercises that are a great test of somebody’s fitness level.

There’s just something inherently badass about being able to lift up your entire body, which is why competitions like Ninja Warrior require ridiculous back and bicep strength.

I know many people reading this article could be just getting started with fitness training, and doing a pull up seems like an absolute impossibility.

That’s okay! I’d guess that 80% of this country probably can’t do a pull up either, so don’t beat yourself up too much. Just because you can’t do a pull up now doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work out your back.

We HAVE written a resource on how to get your first pull-up here, but let’s start with the steps before that!

I have just the exercise for you instead: the bodyweight row! It’s a great exercise you can work on as you start to delve deeper into the wonderful world of strength training!

The Bodyweight (Inverted) Row

So what the hell is an inverted bodyweight row you ask?

GREAT QUESTION. In fact, it’s a question I get all the time in emails, so I figured I’d add it to the repertoire of explained exercises here on Nerd Fitness.

I’ll be using “bodyweight row” and “inverted row” interchangeably in this article.

You’ve probably heard of the regular barbell row. You pick up a barbell, bend over at the waist (keeping your back straight), and pull the weight up towards your chest.

This can be a great exercise, but improper form could cause complications or not give you a great workout!

Luckily, the inverted row takes care of all of that. You get to use your body weight, and there’s no extra stress on your back. As an added bonus, you get a decent core workout too.

This exercise has been referred to as the reverse bench press, as you grab a bar like you were getting ready to bench press it, but instead of lifting the weight down towards you, you’re pulling your body up towards the bar. Think of it like this: “benchpress” is to “pushing” as “inverted row” is to “pulling.”

Balance FTW!

Why the inverted bodyweight row is so great: I’m a huge fan of compound exercises (like the squat and deadlift, pull-ups and push-ups), and I’m also a huge fan of exercises that don’t require expensive machines or lots of extra bells and whistles.

An inverted row works all of your pull muscles: your back, biceps, traps, and all the stabilizer muscles in between. If you’ve been doing just pushups and bench presses, you need to start doing an equal amount of work with your back to stay in balance and away from injury.

If you want to eventually be able to do pull-ups, THIS is the exercise you need to add into your routine until you can do a full pull up.

Speaking of which, if you are just getting started with bodyweight rows to eventually do a pull-up, download our free, comprehensive guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know.

In it, we have workout plans to follow whether you’re at home doing bodyweight training or at the gym with weights. Put your email in the box below and I’ll send you the guide free so you can get started today!

How To Do An Inverted Bodyweight Row

Let’s start with the people who have access to a gym (see a variation for No-Gym people at the end). You know I hate machines for pretty much every exercise, due to the fact they restrict your body’s natural tendency to move.

I grabbed a video of Staci from Team NF demonstrating a bodyweight row with gymnastic rings from our premium course (The Nerd Fitness Academy), but don’t worry if you don’t have rings – you can see how to do them with a Smith Machine or barbell under this demonstration.

How to do a bodyweight row with explanation:

If you don’t have rings, here’s Staci demonstrating the same movement, just with an anchored barbell in a squat rack:

Lie on the floor underneath the bar (which should be set just above where you can reach from the ground).
Grab the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing AWAY from you).
Contract your abs, and try to keep your body a completely straight line. Your ears, shoulders, hips legs, and feet should all be in a straight line.
Pull yourself up to the bar until your chest touches the bar.
Lower yourself back down.

If you’re still struggling and they’re too difficult, it’s okay. We just need to back up a few steps. Set the bar higher so that when you lean back, your body isn’t down on the ground; maybe it’s only at a 45 degree angle.

Here’s Staci again demonstrating it at a higher angle:

By setting the bar higher and your body higher, it takes more of your body weight out of the equation. As you get stronger (and/or lose weight), you’ll be able to drop the bar until you’re parallel when pulling yourself up.

Some tips and tricks:

Don’t let your butt sag (squeeze your buttcheeks, flex your stomach, and keep your body rigid from head to toe).
Don’t flail your elbows. Grab the bar with your hands a little closer than you would if you were doing a bench press, and keep your elbows at that angle from your body.
Pull the bar towards the middle of your chest. Don’t pull the bar up towards your throat, or down towards your belly button. Right in the middle!
Keep your abs tight. Keep your abs tight throughout the whole routine. Your body should be a straight line the whole time, and the only thing moving is your arms
Think of pulling your shoulder blades together at the top of the exercise.
GO all the way. Don’t half-ass it. Lower yourself until your arms are completely extended, and raise yourself until your chest touches the bar.

When should you do this exercise:

When I go into a gym, my time is extremely limited, and I’m working towards developing strength. I’ll try to do one leg exercise (either squats or deadlifts), followed by a pushing exercise (either bench press or overhead press), and then a pulling exercise (pull ups or inverted rows). Here’s a sample two day split for me:

Day 1: Squats, bench press, inverted rows, dips
Day 2: OFF
Day 3: Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Pull Ups (or chin ups), Planks (Floor Swipes).
Day 4: OFF

Both days work my full body, I can do a full routine in less than 40 minutes, and I’m building strength. If you can’t do dips on Day 1, you can do pushups. If you can’t do pull ups on day 2, you can substitute assisted pull ups or lat pull downs (although I don’t like lat pull downs very much).

On the rows, aim for 3 sets of 10. If you can’t do that, do 3 sets to exhaustion, and build your way up to 3 sets of 10. Once you can do that, put your feet up on a chair, throw some weights in a backpack, put it on reverse (so the bag is hanging in front of you), and then do the rows.

You got this.

If you are doing this on your own, but are overwhelmed and confused about strength training, I know how that feels. It can be scary enough to keep MOST people from starting, which is actually why we created our 1-on-1 Coaching Program. Our coach gets to know you, builds a program based on your experience and goals, will check your form on each movement (via video), and keep you accountable and on track!

You can learn more about our coaches and schedule a free call with us by clicking the image below:

What if I don’t have access to a gym?

Just because you don’t have access to a gym doesn’t mean you can’t work out your back, you just need to get VERY creative. Try these few things for example:

Get a really thick wooden dowel or pipe, something strong enough to support your weight. Lie it across two of your kitchen chairs, and then lie down underneath it. Make sure its sturdy, and the bar isn’t going to break/move on ya, and pull yourself up.
Use your kitchen table. Or your desk (if it’s in the middle of the room and doesn’t have a back). Be very careful with this one. Lie underneath your table so your head and shoulder are sticking out above it. Grab the table edge with an overhand grip, and pull yourself up (just like it’s explained above). Warning, don’t pull the table over with you, and make sure you’re not gonna break the thing. Obviously this is a pretty crude way to get the job done, but it works.

Don’t forget, you want to stay in balance. Don’t just do push ups at home if you can help it, try to work out your back too. If you don’t have a pull up bar, find a way to do some bodyweight rows whether it’s between two chairs or under a table. You’re smart, get creative.

Here’s a video of me explaining how to do Inverted Body Weight Rows using just my kitchen table:

This is a great movement that can help you get started to building up your often ignored pull muscles. If you have poor posture, and spend all day at a desk hunched over a keyboard, mixing in bodyweight rows to your routine can be incredibly beneficial!

Any more questions about the inverted bodyweight row? Leave em below!

-Steve

PS: Be sure to check out the rest of the Strength Training 101 series:

You can also get the guide free when you sign up in the box below and join the Rebellion!

PPS: Looking for more specific instruction? I’ll again remind you of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! Your own Nerd Fitness Coach who will get to know you, your goals, and your lifestyle, and develop a workout plan (with rows) that’s specific to not only your body, but also to your schedule and life.

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source https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/inverted-row-are-you-missing-out-on-this-great-exercise/